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Friday, July 16, 2010

Guide to Stockholm (updated on July 28, 2011)

This is probably what I get asked the most - what to do when in Stockholm! As a local, I don't reflect all that much on some of these categories, but I've tried my best. Feel free to comment and tell me about your own favorites!

Where to go in Stockholm when you want...

... coffee
Swedish coffee is good, in just about any place. It's a whole lot better than American coffee - that's for sure. The coffee culture is strong, and because of that you can get a decent espresso-based drink in a lot of places. However, there are some that are MUCH better than others. I like Sosta and Primafila, both tiny coffee bars. You'll notice that there are no Starbucks in Stockholm (only at the airport, so get your fix before you leave!) but there are many other chains that at least look similar. I find that Espresso House and Barista Fair Trade are the ones that seem to train their baristas the most, and have the most consistent, good results. None of them can make a frappuccino though, so you'll just have to go without. (And no, their "frapinos" and "frapistas" are nothing like the real thing.)

... Swedish food
This is really the hardest part to write, and the one most people ask me about. See, I never ever go out to eat Swedish food. That's the kind of stuff I, and most others, cook at home. So, I asked my friends on Twitter and Facebook for advice, and they recommended Ulla Winbladh, Konstnärsbaren, Tranan, Rolfs kök, Tennstopet and Magnus Ladulås.

... Swedish fastfood
You'll find korvkiosker (hot dog stands) all over the city. Try one! A Swedish specialty is a "tunnbrödrulle" which is a soft wrap bread (sort of like a tortilla) with a hot dog and mashed potatoes. It's often topped with shrimp salad. It's as weird as it sounds, but people really do eat it. (Not me, though.) And if you're here in the summer, go to Slussen subway station, get to the plaza on top and find Strömmingsvagnen for fried herring sandwiches.

... pastries
You'll find tons of bakeries and pastry shops ("konditorier") all over the city and most of them are very good. Things you definitely want to try include cinnamon buns, Princess cake, chokladbollar, chokladbiskvier and dammsugare. My favorite place to go, and to take foreign guests, is Vetekatten. It's very old-fashioned and very quaint. A similar place is Sturekatten on Riddargatan 4 - also very nice. Don't forget to try Lussekatter if you're here in December, or Semlor if you're here between January-March.

... ice cream
You'll find excellent home made ice cream at 18 smaker. Stikki Nikki is also great, and serve gelato. And when nothing else will do, there *is* always Ben & Jerry's - in several locations.

... Smorgasbord
Well, not that I've tried these personally, but if you want a traditional big smorgasbord (and aren't lucky enough to get invited to a Swede who happens to serve you one), I hear that Stallmästaregården and Ulriksdals Wärdshus have good ones. Or hop on a day-ferry to Åland - the boats have surprisingly good food and it's very reasonably priced. (Viking Line, Silja Line)

... burgers
I really like the burgers at Texas Burger Co. Good stuff. A Swedish alternative to McDonalds is MAX.

... steaks & American food
The above-mentioned Texas Smokehouse has some nice steaks too, but I prefer Saddle & Sabre. (Their chili is awesome too!) Also try Restaurang Peppar (a relative of mine is head chef!) at Torsgatan 34, or Mississippi Inn.

... Mexican fast-food
Ok, so maybe you're not expecting to find great Mexican food in Stockholm - and why should you?However, Swedes are obsessed with Tex Mex and you'll find tons of products in any supermarket. Every Swedish family - well, almost - eats some sort of Tex Mex at least once a month, and many more often than that. So, it's sort of surprising that there aren't more restaurants. There are however two shining stars. La Neta is wonderfully authentic, and they make their own tortillas. Serrano calls themselves Fresh Mex, but their burritos and quesadillas are really tasty and it's well worth a visit. Avoid Taco Bar!

... Japanese
There's good stuff to be found, promise! Ki-Mama is supposedly great, and Hasseludden Yasuragi is a Japanese-style spa with excellent food. A few dumpling places - perhaps more Chinese than Japanese have been popping up around the city lately. I've tried Pekingmormors Dumpleria and was very happy.

... Swedish traditions Skansen, definitely. It's a zoo (nordic animals only), but also an outdoor museum. There are many authentic old buildings showing what life in Sweden has been like through the ages, and in different parts of the country. It's well worth a visit - and while you're there, don't miss the freshly baked goodies in the "town quarters", they're excellent.

... ethnic food stores
There are many, most of them clustered near Hötorget. I have to do a separate guide on that, some time... For now let me just say that there are definitely at least Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Polish, French and Korean stores.

... cookbooks
There are many book stores, but some of the best selections are at NK and Hedengrens. These also have a decent amount of cookbooks in English.

... kitchen stuff
The department stores NK and Åhléns City have decent kitchen departments, but if you really want the best selection of cooking tools, head to Cordon Bleu. They have it all.

... a history lesson
Old Town - Gamla Stan - is always nice. It's quite touristy and you'll find a lot of cheap souvenirs, but that's not all you'll find. Do take one of the walking tours - they're quite interesting. (If you happen to be here in December, there's a nice christmas market at Stortorget.) And tourists seem to enjoy Vasamuseet as well - I personally don't really find an old ship all that charming (especially not one who went under on her maiden voyage) but the exhibit is pretty good and there's a lot to learn about life in the 1600:s. Medeltidsmuseet is a good museum about old times in Stockholm, and for an authentic meal, go to Sjätte Tunnan.

... to get out of the city
Nacka Strand (get there by boat or bus) is nice - you can see lots of people fishing for herring, and while you're there - drop me a line and maybe we can have coffee, as it's about ten minutes from where I live. You can also take the boat to Fjäderholmarna - a nice place for a picnic! Or if you have a car, drive out to Värmdö and perhaps visit at Siggesta Gård. You'll find a big flea market on the weekends.

Stockholm is by far one of my favorite cities. I would highly recommend the Nationalmuseum for it's elegant and well curated arts displays. While it's not exactly a tourist destination, I also found the subway system to be very interesting because it's largely carved out of solid rock and randomly painted and carved with interesting shapes and figures - it's an organic departure from most of the saline transit systems I've used elsewhere.

I also like the National Museum and the area Djurholmen is very nice in summer (Vasa Ship Museum is right there too). A nice place for ice cream is the panorama on the north side of Södermalm. And I agree too, coming from the perspective of the U.S., the subway system is very interesting and aesthetically another world from the system in Chicago.

We absolutely love Stockholm, it's definitely one of our favorite cities in the word.

If you want to try an amazing smörgåsbord, you should definitely visit The Veranda of the Grand Hotel. The location is beautiful, staff absolutely brilliant and the food delicious. The staff will tell you about the concept of the smörgåsbord, how you should approach it in order to get most out of it, and recommend what kind of drinks works best with it (schnapps of course! :)).

It's probably not the cheapest place to go, but it's a buffet, so you will definitely get value for your money. And as mentioned, the location is very beautiful, just next to the sea. Superb lunch option in this great city!

Thank you everyone for your input! I do agree about the subway system - it's not something I think about, but it is pretty unique! It's also easy and safe to use, and there are elevators or at least escalators at pretty much all the stations. (Still, I prefer the bus if I'm travelling with the stroller - the elevators are pretty funky.)

Rachel, in Gothenburg you have to get coffee at DaMatteo - they're the best! Bar Centro is very good too. Get pastries at Steinbrenner & Nyberg! And I hear "Familjen" is a really good restaurant, but I haven't been myself. The shrimp sandwiches at Heaven23 are delicious, huge and come with a fabulous view!

Hej Anne!Many thanks for this! I will be going to Stockholm on 2 July and this has definitely helped me decide what I want to do in the 3 days I'll be there.One question though, I would very much like to buy an inexpensive kruskavel, are there any places in Stockholm that will store them, maybe supermarkets? I do not necessarily mean expensive boutiques for the kitchen gadgets, just sth that will do the job. Sorry if this sounds silly, I'm quite keen on getting one...And thanks a lot again!Any favourite place you have for fika and bullar?

Gaviota, I'm not sure that supermarkets would have them, but Åhléns City should definitely have one. They have a really good kitchen department, and with reasonable pricing. If you can't find it there, I'd try Cordon-Bleu - expensive in general, but I don't think a kruskavel will set you back a lot.

As for fika and bullar, I always take my guests to Vetekatten - one of my favorites, and very quaint :) Do send me an e-mail if you want to meet up for coffee - if I can, I'd love to meet you!

i'm going to stockholm 20-26 of august 2012 with oriflame for our Gold Conference, and am very happy reading your post about stockholm!Give me lots of recomendation where to go, what to eat, and i'm so excited to try and visit the food and the place in this post.

visiting stockholm has been my dream ever. So when the opportunity is right in front of my face, i'm busy browsing around and finding your post helping me a lot!

btw, i can see that you love cooking and baking. Same here.. :-)do you want me to bring you something related to your hobby of baking and cooking from my country, indonesia? :-)I'm serious and i'd love to bring it, if you want to.. :-)

Please kindly email me to khalida.nugroho@gmail.com if you want to have special spices or traditional tools from my country..

Please visit my facebook also here if you wan to inbox me.. :-)http://www.facebook.com/syarifah.khalida?ref=tn_tnmn

fyi, based on oriflame itinerary, i'm going to stay at Clarion Sign Hotel during my stay in stockholm. Is the hotel in a good location to explore stockholm on foot?